Mattia Binotto's departure from Ferrari after nearly thirty years has given rise to much speculation and of course, the thoughts of the rest of the paddock regarding the Italian's exit were widely expected, and of those, Christian Horner spoke on the subject.

The Red Bull team principal said he was not surprised by the Maranello director's departure and sympathised that it must be very hard for him: “Not really. I mean, that’s obviously Ferrari’s choice. Obviously it’s difficult for him. They had a great car this year; they were certainly very competitive.” 

Following this, the Briton added that Binotto will have been the sixth Ferrari director since he has been Red Bull director, having previously had as "rivals" Jean Todt (1993 - 2007), Stefano Domenicali (2008 - 2014), Marco Mattiacci (2014) and Mauricio Arrivabene (2015 - 2018).

In the wake of the uncertainty generated by the Italian's departure, Horner was questioned by Sky Sports F1 about his future and the chances of him going to Ferrari, to which the 49-year-old responded by reiterating his total commitment to the Milton Keynes outfit, and reminded that he has been with the team since the beginning and that his ties with the team are very strong: “Look, my commitment is very much with the Red Bull team. I’ve been there since the beginning and obviously have a very close attachment.”

In Binotto's years at the helm of Ferrari, this year he had the best result of all, finishing second in the constructors' championship with seventeen wins. Horner, in turn, has led Red Bull to five constructors' and six drivers' championships, four with the recently retired Sebastian Vettel and two with the reigning world champion, Dutchman Max Verstappen.

It remains to bee seen who will be the head of Ferrari next year, nevertheless, the team has stated that news will be released before the end of the year and everyone is expecting that the current Principal of Alfa Romeo, Frédéric Vasseur, to be the chosen one.